Vettori to miss Champions League

Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has ruled himself out of the Champions League T20 to be played in India in September and October due to family health issues. Vettori was named in the Northern Knights squad that is in the qualifying group with Lahore Lions, Mumbai Indians and Southern Express.

In a statement, Vettori said: "I really love playing for ND and to do so on a world stage would have been a real highlight."

*Mitchell Santner, the 22-year old left-arm spinner, will take his place.

The Champions League would be his first taste of competitive T20 cricket. Santner collected nine wickets at an economy rate of 3.75 in nine Ford Trophy matches since making his debut this season. A maiden first-class century in January is also among his credentials and he comes in highly rated, according to head coach James Pamment

"Mitch was very close to selection for our original 15, missing out purely because we had a luxurious abundance of experienced spin bowlers in Daniel, Anton Devcich, Ish Sodhi and Jono Boult," Pamment said.

Northerns Knights are already without allrounder Corey Anderson, who chose to represent his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians in the tournament. The two teams are scheduled to play each other during the qualifying stage, which will be held between September 13 and 16, before the main leg between September 17 and October 4.

Vettori recently represented Jamaica Tallawahs in the recent Caribbean Premier League, his first T20 assignment since the Big Bash League last season. He coached Royal Challengers Bangalore during IPL 2014 but has not played a T20I for New Zealand since September 2012.

*This story has been updated with the news of Mitchell Santner taking Daniel Vettori's place